Governors

We are delighted to have built a governing body with an appropriate mix of experience and a wide range of relevant skills. We have appointed Nick Walden, as our Chair of Governors.

Nick Walden – Nick is very experienced, having been a governor at a local secondary school for 11 years, including 8 years as the Chair of Governors. He is also a National Leader of Governance with the National College for Teaching & School Leadership, and has considerable experience in construction and construction law.

Linda Glithro – Linda has extensive experience of primary education and school management, having taught in the local area for over 30 years. She is currently an inspector with the Independent Schools Inspectorate, as well as co-author of a primary level maths series of books.

Dr Winnie Wang – Winnie is currently a senior lecturer in human geography at the University of Bristol, and has previously taught at universities in the USA and China. She is an expert when it comes to analysing data, which is a key task of governing bodies.

Matt Gale – Matt has been a governor at another local primary school for 3 years and also has experience of working with Trustee boards in his role as a pensions consultant. He is a member of the Trust and has been appointed as a governor of the Heights to provide some continuity between the team that set up the school ready to open, and the governing body, who oversee it going forward.

Esme Tiplady – Before children Esme was a primary school teacher, going on to lead a team providing support to children with emotional and behavioural problems across an education authority: She learned a lot about what makes a well-run school. She is passionate about high standards but equally about school as a community and a place for children to develop emotionally and socially. Until recently she was vice-chair of her pre-school committee. She enjoys supporting the school and representing Heights parents.

Jane Borgeaud – Jane was a teacher and school senior leader in East London before working for nine years as an education consultant with over 200 schools across London. She now combines work managing the REinspired Caversham project in local schools, lecturing on the initial teacher training programme at Reading University and raising her two young children.

Barney Smith – Barnaby was elected as parent Governor in Oct 2015, with one daughter in reception and another starting in a couple of years. With a background in analytics and scenario modelling in a variety of roles Barnaby has a continuing passion to help the school flourish.

Emma Sanigar – Emma is a Staff Governor and a Heights parent and currently teaches part-time in the school, having over ten years of teaching experience at Primary level. Emma has experience of teaching across all year groups at KS1 and KS2 and has previously held the position of French Subject Leader across KS2 in addition to Assessment Co-ordinator. Emma currently has a responsibility for taking the lead on pupil wellbeing and PSHE within the school.

School governors will play a key role in the future success of The Heights Primary. Ofsted (the national body that inspects schools) has stated:

Good governance at a school is of huge importance and can have a considerable impact on the success of a school. Governors play a critical role in guiding, supporting and challenging schools.

What are school governors?

The National Governors Association describes school governors as ‘individuals who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education’. They give up their own time on a voluntary basis (i.e. unpaid) to help provide a high standard of education.

What is a governing body?

The governing body is made up of the individual governors and is established, in law, as a corporate body. Decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing body, and individuals do not have the power to act independently. The governing body usually meets at least three times a year.

What are the responsibilities of governing bodies?

The governing body sets the strategic aims and objectives of the school, and monitors progress made towards achieving those. The Headteacher will be responsible for implementing the strategic plan of the governing body, as well as the operational issues involved in running a school.

The governing body’s responsibilities include the following:

setting targets for pupil achievement

managing the school’s finances

making sure the curriculum is balanced and broadly based

appointing staff

reviewing staff performance and pay.

To find out more about our Governing Body and what they are responsible for, please click here

More information on the role of school governors can be found at the following sites: